


Pop Ins

by peacehopeandrats



Series: Rumbelling Shorts [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling (Once Upon a Time), A Monthly Rumbelling January 2020 (Once Upon A Time), Family, Gen, Missing Years, New realm, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:19:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22260172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacehopeandrats/pseuds/peacehopeandrats
Summary: Inspired by the January Monthly Rumbelling. The Golds visit a land where only light magic exists and nine year old Gideon has a rather unexpected adventure.This is complete to a point and will be expanded on whenever I can.
Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Series: Rumbelling Shorts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630849
Kudos: 6





	Pop Ins

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of an eventual work in my Growing Up series. Inspired by the Monthly Rumbelling prompt “How on earth did you get up there?” The rest of this story will be included when I get to it, but for now, enjoy this little snippet of life with the Golds, in a realm where only light magic exists.

Gideon watched his Papa spinning at the wheel and tipped his head curiously as the man's movements created a thick yarn. It looked solid and strong, but there wasn't enough of it to be useful for much of anything. He could imagine it being a pull string for an attic door, or maybe a kind of belt, but that was about all.

“Did you put everything into your boxes?” The words were his mother's. They ricocheted through the almost empty house, making the question seem more mysterious than it was. Packing days always stressed her, but this one seemed different somehow. There was a nervous energy in the air that he couldn't quite understand, not to mention the many whispered conversations between the two in the last week, hushed arguments that stopped the minute he set foot in the room.

Of course, his Papa might have something to do with that. He sat spinning while his mother dashed about, frantically checking corners and closets for forgotten stockings or bars of half-used soap that, for some reason, needed to come with them. This had never happened before. It was why Gideon was so curious about the final product.

“Yes, mother,” Gideon called back, eyes fixated on the movements of his Papa's fingers. He felt spellbound, but in a good way, and reveled in the closeness that came from watching his father work.

“There. Finished.” The wheel creaked to a stop and his Papa held out the yarn. “Go on,” he commanded. “Pull.”

Gideon took hold and gave a gentle tug.

“Ah,” his father croaked playfully, swatting at the air between them. “Give it a _real_ pull. Everything you've got.”

Again Gideon pulled, but this time, with all of his might. The yarn gave ever so slightly, then held. He looked down at the thick fibers in his hands and decided it felt more like a tiny rope than yarn. “What is this for, Papa?”

“I'll show you. Come here,” his papa said. “You're meant to wear it.”

So it _was_ a belt, even if it didn't seem to be a useful one. He moved closer, arms raised, and let his father tie the chord around him, testing the knot with a gentle tug. One end had been left longer than the other, so unbalanced that it nearly dragged at his feet. Both he and his Papa studied the end result, but while Gideon found the new item awkward and clumsy, his father seemed to be fairly pleased.

“Yes. That will do nicely.”

At this, his mother appeared, hands on hips, head tipped to the side. “Are you sure it will be long enough?”

Rumple gestured at the floor. “Do you want the boy to trip himself up every time he takes a step?” Rumple chuckled and patted Gideon on the shoulder. “I think this will be just fine.”

Gideon looked from his mother to his papa and back again, blinking in confusion. “So... why do I have to wear this?”

“Your father and I found a special realm,” his mother explained as she sat in a chair beside the spinning wheel. Light from outside pushed through the window and shone on the streak of gray that had grown in her hair. Gideon's eyes flicked away, unwilling to admit the sign of his mother's mortality, and rested instead on the ring she wore. Reading his action as a need for reassurance, she reached out to take his hands in her own. “It's a place of light magic, where darkness has never been seen... that we know of, anyway. We're going to find out if that's true.”

Gideon felt his eyes go wide with hope and he spun so quickly to face his Papa that he lost his balance and had to be steadied by his mother's quick reflexes. “Do you think they can help?”

His Papa's face softened, eyes sparkling with excitement. “We hope so.”

“But...” He looked down at the new belt that had been made for him. “Why do I need this?”

“You'll see,” his Papa told him before kissing the top of his head. He looked at Belle then. “Are we ready?” She nodded and stood, holding out her hand for Gideon to take, even as she draped an arm through Rumple's. 

Together the three made their way to the front door of the place they had spent the last year calling home. As always, he and his father were forced to pause while his mother hovered, staring into the living room as if looking for the final, forgotten item to put into one of the boxes or crates.

“I'll come back for it all when we're settled,” his papa told her. He said the same thing whenever they left, but it never seemed to make her ready. She had to be ready on her own. That was what Papa always said, when his mother wasn't around to hear.

Finally, the door was closed and they faced the green space that lead to the road. Rumplestiltskin pulled a bean from his pocket and tossed it forward, causing a ring of sparks to fly out from the ground where it landed. The bright light formed a circle that spun and spat like the sparkling fire toys Gideon loved to watch at night celebrations.

He blinked in surprise. "Papa..."

"Well, that's new," his mother said at the same time.

“They warned me it might be different,” his papa shouted in an uncertain voice as he squinted at the burning edges of the circle they faced. The noise of the whirling portal was like the wind of a horrible storm. “The latest beans come from a new harvest. Some kind of hybrid.”

"Is it safe?" Belle moved closer, put her hand on his papa's shoulder and squeezed. It was supposed to look like every other touch, but Gideon could see the white in her knuckles, showing her worry.

His papa hesitated, then shrugged. “Should be fine,” he told them in a voice that Gideon wanted to believe but couldn't quite. “The giant knows, I should think." He turned and lifted the end of Gideon's new belt, gripping it tightly. "Whatever happens, son, don't take this off. Do you understand?”

Gideon nodded as the three of them stepped into another land.

* * *

The portal let them out in the middle of a cobblestone street. The sun was low and bright in the sky, a sure sign of the morning hour. They had been lucky to arrive in the earliest part of the day. Any later and the roads would have been busy with people. For now, the quiet allowed them to take in their surroundings in peace without being run over on a busy city thoroughfare.

Rumplestiltskin stepped to the curb, bringing his wife and son with him. He looked up and down the rows of buildings, memorizing their location and taking in the culture of the place. It seemed surprisingly modern for a magical realm, though the architecture did bring back memories of old cities in the Enchanted Forest. The various tweaks and accents along the road hinted at an evolved technology. There were bulbs in the street lamps and the hinges and handles on the doors all appeared sleek and contemporary. Europe, he decided finally. Perhaps somewhere in the United Kingdom...

"It's like home," Belle said with awe as she alternately gazed up at the roofs and peered in through windows. “This could be any town in the Enchanted Forest.”

“I was thinking England,” Rumple amended as he took a step forward. “But both make a good match. There was certainly a feel of home in Europe as well.” A tug in his hand reminded him that he was still tethered to Gideon.

“Papa," the boy told him."You can let go now. We made it."

Rumple turned a smile at him."I'm afraid I can't," he said tenderly, hating that he was keeping things from his son. For Gideon's safety, he and Belle had agreed to keep the nature of the local magic a mystery for as long as was possible. Neither of them wanted him lost to the realm forever. "You see, this realm has a very special kind of magic, one that might try and take you away from me. I need to hold on until I am sure you will be safe. All right?”

Confusion and concern crossed Gideon's face, but he nodded his agreement. “All right, Papa. But if more people show up, can we... at least make it look less like you have me on a leash?”

A laugh erupted from Rumple, creating a strange tingle throughout his body, but when his son scowled at him, the sensation stopped. “I'm sorry.” The apology came with a playful scrubbing of the boy's head, causing him to grunt and twist away. “There are people here who wear something similar,” Rumple explained finally. “You'll see.”

“Well, can I at least know _what_ kind of magic I need to be ready for?” 

Rumplestiltskin thought about his options. Telling Gideon what to expect might cause him to _use_ the magic unnecessarily, putting him in a situation that the unschooled had difficulty getting out of. Not telling him would, of course prevent Gideon from purposefully using the magic, but might cause a panic if he were to stumble across it by accident. He weighed this thinking with the fact that he had made a promise to Belle and sighed heavily under the weight of it all.

Standing ahead of them, Belle unknowingly put an end to the debate. "Where do we start?" She looked back at them with such love and excitement in her eyes that Rumple began to feel the flutter of pure joy rise inside of him. 

He cleared his throat to center himself and nodded down the street."That looks like an inn a few buildings down. We can get a room and then explore a bit after we have eaten.”

Belle beamed and hurried back to take his arm, kissing his cheek once she reached him.

Gideon rolled his eyes playfully as they walked on, though one hand was rubbing idly at his belly. After a few strides he made a face, wrinkling his nose and scrunching his eyes tight. "I don't think... I don't think I feel well. My stomach is... different.”

"That's the magic here,"Belle told him. "I feel it too. It's a little bit like butterflies or bubbles floating around all inside of me."

“Try not to think on it too much,” Rumple told them, trying to hold the rope tightly without giving away his worries. "Everyone in this realm has magic. They are born with it and grow up with it. They are so used to the feel of it that the price of the magic doesn't bother them. The truth of this place is not that everyone here has magic, but that the magic here has everyone."

"It sounds dangerous," Gideon said with a swallow.

"Only if I let go." Rumple insisted as they reached the inn.

At this,Gideon took his hand and squeezed hard. Rumple squeezed back in reassurance as they went inside.

* * *

The lobby that greeted them was tiled in dark stone and had rich, wooden accents in the cream colored walls. While the decor certainly implied that the inn was older, the structure itself had been modernized. Electric bulbs hung from the ceiling, shining their warm glow on a room that had a “restored” quality about it. The historic stone exterior had easily hidden the updated beauty of the building's interior, Belle thought, as they were approached by a woman with a friendly greeting and a bright grin.

“Welcome,” she said with a bubbly cheer that was almost infectious. “Can I help--?”

The moment Rumple turned to greet her, the woman froze, her eyes narrowing to slits. “We haven't had your kind here before,” she said sternly. “It isn't that you aren't welcome, you understand, but I couldn't claim to know your needs or be able to fill them.”

Belle saw her husband's chest expand slowly and then contract as he let out a long, slow breath, and caught Gideon doing much the same. Though Rumple's smile never wavered, the boy's turned to a frown. She knew the slight hurt both the father and the son who took such pride in the man he called Papa. Eight years of traveling to places that never heard of the Dark Curse made these kinds of introductions a part of their distant past and now here they were, suddenly reliving everything in one conversation.

“I understand that this is a realm of light magic,” Rumple answered warmly. “And I did expect to stand out like a red rose on a bush of white flowers, but I can promise you I have no use for the magic I was cursed with. My wife, my son, and I are on a quest of sorts, to rid me of the darkness so that I can continue sharing a life with them as it was meant to be lived.” He sighed and adjusted his stance, gesturing out into the lobby and back to the street. “We had hoped that coming here, we might find a way to at least lighten the burden, even if we couldn't find a cure.”

“My husband has not cast even the simplest spell in over nine years,” Belle insisted as she pressed closer to his side. “He gave up magic when our son was born.” It was a simplification of their history, but they never explained Gideon's full history to anyone, even in a realm that would understand it.

The woman stared at them for an exceptionally long time, her eyes locking with Rumplestiltskin's and peering as if they could drill a hole through them straight to the truth of the matter. When she finally nodded, it was a short, sharp gesture of acceptance. “I believe you,” she said at last. “You do realize you will be met with much the same greeting wherever you travel in this realm?”

Rumple nodded slowly. “I knew what I faced before we left home,” he admitted. “I am willing to wear cuffs that prevent the casting of-”

“Oh, no, no,” the woman snorted, flapping at the air as if warding off complete nonsense. “That certainly won't be necessary. I simply mean to warn you that your welcome will not always come so easily with other members of the community.”

The corners of his mouth twitched up in a weak smile. “I expected that, yes.”

“Well...” She looked at each of them in turn, sizing them up again as her bubbling personality returned. “We only have one room available, but you are welcome to it. It has one bed, and we can bring a cot for the boy.” She talked as she strode across the room to a desk at the corner, then pulled open a drawer and took a key. “My name is Jane and if your travels brought you here, then your visit was most certainly meant to be.”

“Why is that?” The question was Gideon's.

“Because the magic here takes you to where you are most needed. Everyone in this realm is born with this gift and it causes us to flow in and out of peoples' lives like leaves drifting on the wind,” Jane told him, bending forward over the counter to tap the tip of his nose. “One minute you're having tea with your friends, then the next... Woosh! You're off to another realm where you are needed.”

Gideon's eyes blinked. “Without a portal?”

“No portal necessary,” Jane told him. She opened her mouth to say more, but Rumplestiltskin made certain to interrupt her. 

“We'll take the room, if you don't mind. It has been a long day and we would prefer to rest before our meal.” He held out his hand expectantly.

“Of course, of course.” The woman plopped the key into his palm with a winning smile. “If you need anything, simply ask.”

“We will,” Belle said as they made their way upstairs.

The room was on the second floor and Rumple handed Gideon the key so that he could do the honors. Eagerly, the boy unlocked the door and opened it a crack to peek inside, then burst into a fit of laughter.

Worried that the magic might claim him in his lighthearted state, Belle put on her best worried expression and added a sterner tone than was necessary to keep him in line. “Gideon! We are out in the hallway.” She shushed him and nudged him to go inside.

“Sorry,” he said as he entered. “I couldn't help it. Miss Jane said the magic would take us where we needed to go and she was right. Papa needed to go here.”

“Why say that?” Rumple's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward, then blinked in surprise at the room they had been given. 

Belle grinned at him. “Oh, look, Rumple,” she said, placing a hand on his chest and throwing out her best mocking tones as she tried not to giggle. “It's purple.”

The walls were actually a pink that practically matched his old home, but the four post bed was covered in a rich purple bedding with golden accents, a pattern that was perfectly duplicated in the rest of the room's furniture.

“Very funny,” he grumped as he shut the door behind them.

* * *

In here will go one of their adventures, in which Belle and Gideon meet a shopkeeper who does actually need their help, and who might be able to help them in return. But let's skip that for now so that we can get to the prompt that started this whole work in the first place. 

* * *

Rumplestiltskin strolled quickly down the cobblestone street, the heels of his shoes clicking out his nervousness. Belle had insisted that she and Gideon wouldn't go far on their little excursion, yet up to this point he had been inside of every shop within three blocks of the inn and he was continuing to miss them. Each shopkeeper, without exception, had first given him one of the calculating glares that he had become used to in this realm, then pointed him farther down the street, across to the next block, or indicated that the pair had just turned the corner.

There would have to be rules, he decided. The next time they traveled to a realm without cell phones, the three would stick together no matter what.

The sound of shattering glass caught his attention and Rumple spun on his heel to locate the origin of the noise. Across the street from where he stood, he saw an open shop door and from the door came a collection of painfully recognizable giggles.

“Oh no,” he muttered to himself as he sped to the entrance. “No, no, no...”

A week. They had managed to keep the magic from getting to Gideon for a whole week and now, after all of that effort, it seemed as if they had failed.

Dashing in to the shop, Rumplestiltskin took in his surroundings. The items for sale all seemed in perfect condition except for a single vase that had toppled to the stone floor. He stood beside it and rotated in place, checking each corner and shadow of the room. The silence was wrong, not just because he was certain he had heard laughter, but because the hush in the room felt forced.

Without warning, an explosion of laughter erupted from above, the kind of outburst that could only mean someone had been holding their breath in order to contain themselves. Slowly, Rumple tipped his head upward, lifting his gaze to the ceiling, where Belle, Gideon, and a woman who was presumably the shopkeeper, were drifting in the rafters.

He circled below them, staring up in amused disbelief and felt a grin widen on his face as he positioned himself under Belle's skirt. The hotel manager had quietly warned her of the dangers of such garments in this realm, but Belle hadn't listened and now she would be paying the price, though Rumple suspected Belle wouldn't mind paying it to _him._

“Not that I'm complaining about the view,” he finally called up to them, a statement which made Belle squeak and fiddle with the fabric tangling around her legs. “But... How on earth did you get up there?”

“We laughed up!” Gideon chortled as he made swimming motions with his arms. “That's what the magic here does, Papa. It's why we felt bubbly all the time. The magic isn't just light magic, it makes you float when you _feel_ light.”

“Yes,” Rumple harrumphed as he shifted position so that he was under Belle again. “Something I warned your mother about repeatedly.” He gave her a wink and a wicked grin.

“Rumple!” Belle shouted at him and kicked a foot in the air as if to shoo him away, but only succeeded in tipping herself to an angle that gifted him an even better view.

The woman beside her helped to set Belle straight, then waved down at the ground below. “Hello,” she said with a winning smile. “I'm Nina Twigley.”

Despite himself, Rumple found his hand raising in the air and returning the wave. “Hello,” he said cordially. “Can I presume you are the one responsible for my family's predicament?”

“Oh yes,” Nina admitted with a giggle. “It's quite my fault. I don't really know what got over me. You see, I'm one of the few in this realm who has trouble with this sort of thing and-”

“It's my fault, Papa,” Gideon told him. The boy was now doing somersaults in the air. “We were talking about Miss Twigley's string being like mine and that she used it to keep herself still so she could work, and then I made a joke. Well, I didn't _mean_ to, but I did. Then she started laughing and floating and when I tried to pull her down, I slipped and then I started laughing and then mother did because I was floating upside down...”

“It's no one's fault,” Belle insisted. “We were just having a good time.”

“Well now that you've had one, I would like my family back, please,” Rumple told her. “I was expecting them for dinner.”

Nina waved her arm as if she were directing traffic. “Come and join us, then,” she told him, in no uncertain terms.

“I can't,” Rumple answered simply.

“Oh.” Nina's face relaxed, her smile disappearing as she lost several inches of lift. “Yes, of course, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean...”

Rumple shook his head, feeling the weight of his darkness more than ever before. He wished he could experience what his wife and son were going through right now. Well, perhaps not the flying part. He hadn't ever wanted that, not even when he was in Neverland, but the drifty feeling of pure light would be nice to feel just once. He also had to admit that there _was_ some appeal to the idea of catching Belle as she drifted by and hiking up her skirts to test his abilities while adrift.

“I'm afraid we have to go,” he said finally.

“Do we have to?” Gideon began to sink to the floor. The motion was at first slow enough that he didn't notice, but once he was halfway, he blinked in surprise. “What's happening?”

“Your heart isn't light any more,” Nina told him. “When you have to be serious or sad or mad... Your heart gets heavy and the magic stops working.”

Rumple caught Gideon's ankle once it was within reach and pulled him down to his side, then took hold of the long belt they had been using and grasped tightly to the end. “All right?”

Gideon nodded. “Yes, Papa. But do we _have_ to go?”

“You do if you want dinner, and I thought you were a growing boy.” The tease sent Gideon to chuckling and drifting again. Rumple smiled and nudged him back to the ground, glad that he still had the power to make his son happy

Once Gideon was settled at his side, Rumple looked up at Belle and held a hand to the sky for her. “Sweetheart,” he whispered, unable to speak words that would possibly hurt her.

“I can't,” Belle told him.

Her words provided the means for the perfect sadness between them and Rumple spoke it tenderly. “Then you will be without us forever.”

Belle dropped like a stone and Rumple rushed to catch her, slipping an arm around her waist and guiding her to the floor with the kind of precision that only years of dancing together could produce. Once she was in his arms, he kissed her, pressing his body against hers.

“I'm sorry, my love,” he whispered. “I had to-”

“I know,” Belle said as she draped her arms over his shoulders and clasped her hands at his neck. 

Behind him, Rumple heard the thud that could only signal Nina Twigley's return to the shop's floor. He turned to the woman once she was settled and gave a slight bow. “I'm afraid we must say goodnight, Miss Twigley. I think my son is in need of flying lessons.”

With another giggle, Gideon began to drift, but Rumple kept his hand firmly on the boy's belt. After speaking her own farewell, Belle's fingers wrapped over his and the two of them walked their son back to the inn as if he were a laughing balloon.


End file.
